Returning to Second Life after years away.

[AdrianCoffin]

Howdy Howdy!

Hope everyone is having a great day.

I was wondering if anyone has been in or is currently in my shoes. 
I've been a member of SL ever since 'parking' was more of a thing around the time Earn2Life was a thing. I didn't have any applicable building skills so I couldn't really make much of an income, and didn't exactly want to invest RL funds into a virtual life. At that time. I'm a Premium Sub now. 

Even though Second Life back then was a bit emptier than it is now, it felt so full in retrospect. I made *incredible* friends, and had such amazing times in places like Demonic and Voodoo. Yeah, my avatar looked like crap for a few months until I was gifted a new avatar by friends (who tired of seeing me wear clothing from the freebie bin, hehe) but I don't recall ever having as much fun as I did in Second Life. As a Homebody who yearned for a 'nightlife', it was perfection. 

Then RL called. Entered into the service as a loyal Nephew of Uncle Sam (he is sort of the mascot for the United States Military, for those who do not know of him) for a decade and had to leave what had become my Sanctum Sanctorum - my friends and family and amazing venues, what had essentially become to me my haven - behind.

I've been back for about a week. And never have I felt so intimidated. 

For a fresh start, I made a new account, yet still maintain my old one. And all I see are so many changes. Bento Heads, for example, Gianni skins, etc. I do not remember who the Premier avatar developer was back when Ginko was doing their 'Let's Fraud SL' thing, but I don't think it was anyone I know now. I also seem to have a list of dead friends and obsolete landmarks. I just teleport to where they are, and spend half an hour just sitting and remembering.. Second Life has never been so full, but to me, it just feels like a barren wasteland, devoid of things that once mattered to me more than most other things ever could, or would.

Now I just have a Gabriel Skin with a Catwa Daniel head. No neck. Just a body and head, lol, and have no idea what I'm doing. It seems like all the lindens I've been spending - thousands - are wasted on items that are incompatible. 

So my question:

What are some good tips for people who are rejoining SL? 

 

Thanks to all who respond!

[Jae Villa]

Welcome back! I started on SL about 2006-ish and left in 2009. I then returned in 2017 and suffered pretty much exactly what you are feeling now. Nostalgia, tinged with sadness, for all the people and places that were either gone or utterly changed. 

Then I encountered mesh. And I wasted all my money (I actually managed to find a mesh body that turns out to be only good for some serious demon RPing... how I don't know!). 

So my first piece of advice is: STOP! Don't spend any more money. Research, research, research (on here especially, lots of old articles giving great instructions on how to find the best bodies etc. Personally I'd recommend either a Signature Gianni or a Belleza Jake to go with that Catwa head, which is the head I use too! The get a full body skin and matching head skin from the same designer i.e. Stray Dog). But first... research. 

Tips: 

1) Go somewhere like the London sim and chat with people there. Usually a mixture of old-timers and newbies (plus a few people like you!) and you may find yourself someone who wants to be friends AND be a personal shopper  

2) Go to shopping events (SeraphimSL.com has a daily updated feed of which events have just started with teleport links and galleries of what's on offer) especially male-focussed ones like TMD, Man Cave, Men Monthly and see what range of clothes they have, what ones you like and what body they go with so you can see what body you might want to get. 

3) I'm always happy to help if I'm in-world, feel free to message me if you see me about! 

[AdrianCoffin]

Thanks! It's really awesome that there are others like me who are in the same boat. 

I actually had heard of mesh, but that was during the time I stopped in at SL to peek around when I had a free day (so rare!). 

 

Your first suggestion is great! I'm just really glad that there seems to be a daily RL funds limit in place, which helps as well to not go too crazy, hehe. See, I have the Signature Gianni and the Catwa head. The Catwa Daniel head has two 'heads', the Daniel head with the neck fix, and another head that looks even better - with the neck missing, lol. So yeah, that's that, I guess. I'll tell you more about it when I get into SL and look you up. Not a huge huge fan of the Gianni face at this time, lol.

My sister recently bought a Neve face with a body (it isn't Lara, it's another creator that's super popular) that didn't look anything like the screenshot, lol. Of course with, as with the Gianni creator, customer service = unresponsive, always offline.

1) I was actually asking about a London sim a week ago! will have to check it out! And a trustworthy personal shopper would be aces.

2) Will check that out! Taking notes here..

3) Absolutely!

I really want to amass as large as a social circle as I had before, hanging out at a friend's house, just chatting and drinking SL wine (which tastes better than RL wine, I guess!)! Definitely miss those days.

[Rowan Amore]

24 minutes ago, AdrianCoffin said:

Thanks! It's really awesome that there are others like me who are in the same boat. 

I actually had heard of mesh, but that was during the time I stopped in at SL to peek around when I had a free day (so rare!). 

 

Your first suggestion is great! I'm just really glad that there seems to be a daily RL funds limit in place, which helps as well to not go too crazy, hehe. See, I have the Signature Gianni and the Catwa head. The Catwa Daniel head has two 'heads', the Daniel head with the neck fix, and another head that looks even better - with the neck missing, lol. So yeah, that's that, I guess. I'll tell you more about it when I get into SL and look you up. Not a huge huge fan of the Gianni face at this time, lol.

My sister recently bought a Neve face with a body (it isn't Lara, it's another creator that's super popular) that didn't look anything like the screenshot, lol. Of course with, as with the Gianni creator, customer service = unresponsive, always offline.

1) I was actually asking about a London sim a week ago! will have to check it out! And a trustworthy personal shopper would be aces.

2) Will check that out! Taking notes here..

3) Absolutely!

I really want to amass as large as a social circle as I had before, hanging out at a friend's house, just chatting and drinking SL wine (which tastes better than RL wine, I guess!)! Definitely miss those days.

Noob Dude: A Style 101 for the Second Life Male Avatar – Part 2 – How to Get Dressed (Mesh Head & Mesh Body) – Virtual Bloke

Always a good place to start and easy to follow.

[Laurel Aurelia]

Welcome back to SL Adrian! It can certainly be a daunting task to create an updated avatar. It can be complicated process due to the nonintuitive-ness of it all. But rest assured, with some patience and time, the mystery of avatar customization will unravel itself.

Signature Gianni is a great choice for a body. I would caution anyone against Belleza bodies  at least right now, because they have not been updated to fit the universal neck that was introduced last year. Without the update, you would always have a seam on your neck with newer heads.

As for getting help with your neck problem, since I am lady and don't know what your HUD looks like it might be best to create a post in the avatar section of the forums. In your post there, please include a picture of your avatar's issue and  a picture of your "Worn" folder. Those two things will give helpers a great deal of information to assist you more quickly.

Feel free to message me in world if you have any questions. While not a guy, I am a seasoned  SL shopper, and know all the quality brands.

 

[AdrianCoffin]

Thanks so much, Lady Laurel!
I actually did get the Gianni body on my first day, mostly so that I could help out at the SL Birthday Bash, and I almost - but not quite - got the Belleza body.

For the most part, I am happy with my purchase, though I have to spend some actual time browsing the MP and trying out different demos.

After being in the Military for so long, and, especially, thanks to novel Corona Virus, I have so much free time that I literally don't know what to do with. Maybe this will be something!

[AdrianCoffin]

3 hours ago, Rowan Amore said:

Noob Dude: A Style 101 for the Second Life Male Avatar – Part 2 – How to Get Dressed (Mesh Head & Mesh Body) – Virtual Bloke

Always a good place to start and easy to follow.

Excellent!

[Angie McGregor]

I have recently returned in earnest in the past four months. I've enjoyed being back, and delighted to see most of my tiny friends list still active and huggable.

I've decided to stay with the mesh body I purchased in 2010 when I signed up for this account. There isn't much support for it any longer, but it feels so much like me that I have refused to part ways with it. Most of the money I have spent has been for updated furnishings.

Edited April 13, 2021 by Creve Coeur

[Kimmi Zehetbauer]

I took a few breaks from SL.  One from like '09 to '15. And the current break about a year ago. I did update the avi and was going to do a couple more tweaks --- but left again as some people in world you think are buddies turn their back on you.

[Marianne Little]

I have been in SL since 2007, that is long enough to remember that "Demo" was a thing already then, yes?

It is still surprisingly many older, experienced people who return to SL and buy without trying a demo first.

Today, it is more important than ever to demo before you buy. Items are more expensive, if you don't take that xstra step in trying on a demo, it is a win or loss. Most times you will regret that you didn't research more and tried on demos. If the demo does not satisfy you, the full priced item does not look better. Of course I don't mean "Demo" signs and words.

Creators are professional with posing and accessorize so the image will look its best. And it is also so many different windlight settings. Plus some Photoshop... Creators should not use PS, but some do.

SL creators take all their promotion pictures on an avatar in the default stands and under SL Midday light on green turf. 😋 No, they don't. That is like a RL photographer going to Wal-Mart and picking a random customer to model out in the parking lot.

So when you see an ad with something that looks great, it is as in RL when you open a glossy magazine and believe that the product will make you look the same. Say this to your sister too, she knows what I am talking about.

Edited April 14, 2021 by Marianne Little

[belindacarson]

I won't buy mesh at all